joseph_smith3

Hummingbirds just arrived in Houston so I put out my feeder and some Ruby throated hummingbirds were using it around dinner time. The attached pictures are from the same frame, The bird itself is heavily cropped--about 30 % of pixels along the long side. Camera was a Z9 with my 100-400mm S. F stop was f5.6. Shutter speed 1/320, ISO 22,800. Focal length at 400mm, hand held. Only processing was noise reduction and a control point to reduce the brightness of the feeder tube. AF-C, Wide Area AF, Large, animal subject detection. Picture taken at 6:49 pm. Check out what an image looks like at 400mm taken in poor to terrible light with heavy cropping.

I read Steve Perry's sharpness review of the 180-200mm with comparisons to other lenses, like the one I have, the 100-400mm S. I am reposting the link to it as the link above was not accessible on my laptop. I was not thrilled to learn that at 400mm, the 180-600mm out performed my 100-400m in the test.

Calling Nikon to confirm grey vs USA is a good idea. I also thought if you registered the lens at NikonUSA and the serial number was accepted, then you knew the lens was USA and not grey. I would appreciate any comments on this from those of you more knowledgeable than I am.

Thanks, Mike. I use most of the same settings you use. I use AFC, Back button focusing, Aperture Priority, Dynamic Area AF with either S or small. I have tried Wide area both large and small with eye detection, but with mixed results. I am usually shooting with a monopod or hand held.

Mike, I love your shots taken with the Z9 and 100-400mm plus tc. I would like to know what AF setting you used especially for the bee on the flower. Or if you just used manual focus? I have the same rig and am struggling to determine the best way to focus my Z9 for similar macro shots.

I was going to suggest the F mount Nikon 300mm f2.8 G VR II lens for your D850. I own one and use it on my D 500, D850 and Z9 when light is low and control of backgrounds is important. I often add the 1.4x tc to it on my DSLRs. Just note that it is heavy, about 6.4 lbs, and its minimum focus distance is about 7.2 ft. I use it with a monopod or tripod. as hand holding it is not an option for me--age 80 with diminishing shoulder and arm strength. This week Nikon was selling a F mount Nikon 500 f4 for about $4000! So who knows what F mount prime lenses will be worth a year from now. If you do not need the f 2.8 feature, the Nikon F mount 300mm f4 pf lens is a wonderful lens to use. It is very sharp at f4 is small and light. It works well with the 1.4x tc too. I own it too and take it with me when I am moving around.

I was not aware of this and am glad to learn that it is possible to do this. I just happen to have a car battery jumper device that is based on lithium batteries. I will check to see if it has an outlet port to charge my iphone. (I think it does.) If it does, I will try and determine if it can be used safely and properly to charge my Z9 battery. Joe

I would double check your technique by making sure that mirror lock up is set or that you use the self timer when you trigger the shutter to minimize any movement from the mirror or any other source. You can also vary the f stop used too and see if a smaller aperture improves sharpness. if you have access to the old manual focus Nikon 55mm macro lens, use it. It is a flat field design to eliminate any focus issues across the focus plane. I believe both the f3.5 and f2.8 versions of the 55mm are flat field.

I think Nikon has a winner with this new 180-600mm Z mount lens. Thank goodness it has internal zoom. My dilemma is that I own and use the Z mount 100-400mm S lens. I really need more focal length and the 180-600m satisfies that need. And with a price point of under $1700 US? Buy it? and sell the 100-400mm? And I still use and love the F mount 500mm f5.6 pf on my Z9. Decisions need to be made one of thee days.

My first attempt at the ver 4 update failed due to my user/stupid error. I copied the bin file into DCIM and not the root directory. When I inserted my card the Z( could not see the bin file. Step two was to reformat the card and copy the bin file into the root directory. All went well after that. I am sure this error happens as many do not want to report on their own mistakes.

There is a firmware guide pdf at download center for this new Z9 firmware. I downloaded it before I downloaded the firmware. I also downloaded the Reference Guide in case it got updated. I need to figure out what if anything in this new firmware will help me.

Thom Hogan onZ8 batteries: use EN-EL15a, EN-EL15b, or EN-EL15c batteries in your Z8, as Nikon suggests. https://www.zsystemuser.com/nikon-z-system-news-and/z8-batteries.html Joe

I have the 100-400mm S lens that I use on my Z9, sometimes with its matching 1.4x tc. Aside from its stated focal length, 100-400mm, it focuses a lot closer than the 400mm prime lens. For me that is a benefit. I bought it as I already had the 500mm f5.6 pf F mount lens that I also use on the Z9. I decided that with the 100-400mm I did not need a 70-200mm S lens. The only other S lens I have is the 24-120mm f4. It the lens you will be getting is your only tele lens in a Z mount, I would think that the 400mm prime and the 1.4x tc makes for sense for pure nature and wildlife situations. When I am using the 100-400mm for nature, I am at 400mm most of the time and sometimes with the 1.4x tc added. Do not be afraid of getting a tc for any Nikon Z mount tele lens.

Thanks Shun, I viewed Ricci's video. It has some very good suggestions.

Steve Perry's video on his AF Z8 and Z9 settings link is below. If you might be partially color blind, like me, pay attention to what he says about how changing colors may help you see things. My settings on my Z9: A11 focus point display: Manual—set to ON Dynanmic area—set to ON Afc—set to ON 3d-- set to white Af 13 focus peaking. Color yellow A15 manual focus ring in af mode. set to ON https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Wxo10LQZUc

I just read this article published in Photography Life about a Z8 prototype used in the Artic. I found it to be worth reading. https://photographylife.com/nikon-z8-field-report-marsel-van-oosten

You may need a new card reader too for the CF Express Type B cards. The download speed to your computer may be impacted by the port you are using on your computer nd the cable that comes with the card reader, I am using a Sony card reader with a USB-C cable that attaches to the USB-C port on my computer. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1532007-REG/sony_mrwg1_t1_cfe_b_xqd_card_reader.html/overview?ap=y&smp=ba_f1_ll&srsltid=AR57-fCDw-6YhDxKtFmINe_bo6q_WW0uZMQ_tsocrrpYYs5aH11HlqiucdI Here is a link to another popular card reader https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1548490-REG/prograde_digital_pgrwcfxsdana_digital_cfxb_sdxc_sdhc_usb_3_1.html/overview

John, I use a Z9. I have two CFE cards, one 256 GB and one 128 GB. The largest is in card slot one; the smaller in card slot two. Card slots are set to Overflow. I started with the 128 GB card, but once I exceeded its capacity during a shoot, I got a larger card. I do shoot nature and birds and do use Continuous all the time and shoot in bursts. In the Z8, the second card slot is SD. If you shoot in a mode where both cards are used, the write speed defaults to the slowest card, the SD card. This may not impact you, but I wanted you to know it. If you need the second card to duplicate the images, copy them to card two at the end of the shoot. If I were to own a Z8, I would want to make sure that my CFE card was large enough that I would never "need" the second SD card. How large depends on how much you shoot in a days shooting and if you use single shot or continuous or low or high frames per sec.

I just got my 500mm pf and 1.4x tc back from Nikon. Repair costs were about $210 for the 1.4 Tc III and about $350 for the 500mm f5.6 pf. Both had bent bayonet tabs or something similar.

I use my Z9 so right now I have no need for the Z8. However, if I were not a Z9 owner, I would give the Z8 some serious thought if I wanted a Nikon mirrorless body. It is smaller and lighter, but my guess is that to get through a full day's shoot, you will need to use a second battery. One advantage of the battery pack for the Z8 is that it holds two batteries (but you lose the one in the camera). And the battery pack can serve as a battery charger when not attached to the camera. But when it is added to the Z8, you get a Z8 body bigger than a Z9. I am not a fan of two different card types, but I can live with that one. Just make sure your CFExpress card is large enough so you will not likely ever use the SD card. This assumes you have slot 2 set to overflow.

Shun, thanks for the information in your response. It so happens that my copy of the Nikon 500mm f5.6 pf is at Nikon (West Coast) for repair right now as I dropped it (a short distance) with a 1.4x III tc attached. Nikon has informed me that the 500mm pf needs repair too. Once I know the costs I will share them. I am sure it will exceed $400 for the 500mm pf alone. I doubt I will spend the $$ to fix my version of the 70-200mm f2.8, but I plan on asking Nikon how much that might be. Thanks to all for your suggestions.

Mike, yes, that thought has occurred to me. I have the Z mount Nikon 24-120mm and the Z mount Nikon 100-400mm S. I am not sure I need or could justify the cost of the Z mount 70-200mm f2.8. I have a friend who has Z mount Nikon bodies and he uses these Nikon Z mount lenses: 24-120mm; 24-200mm and the 100-400mm. None is f2.8. Joe

I just tried to use my Nikon lens 70-200mm AF-S VR II f2.8 G, ED-IF lens on my D850 and discovered that the auto focus is dead. It is not the camera as other lenses with AF work just fine on the D850. And the 70-200mm AF is dead on my D500 too. I purchased the lens in 2012. I cleaned the contacts on the lens and camera and I toggled the A/M switch on the lens too. Nothing resolved the issue. Manual focus on the lens works just fine. The lens is worth only about $900 if all is working. Any idea if any AF parts are still available from Nikon? If yes, what might be the approximate repair cost? I hate spending big bucks to fix it as the lens is old. Any other options I might consider? My Nikon bodies are Z9, D850, D500 and D800e. I will contact Nikon for possible repair/parts available next week. Thanks

I am late to this discussion, but I use a third party USB-C charger to recharge my Z9 battery. It supports Power Delivery or PD. Here are links on Power Delivery; USB-C Charger and USB-C cables. Power Delivery https://www.goalzero.com/blogs/news/what-the-tech-usb-c-and-power-delivery-explained USB-C Charger: Xcellon Mighty Mini 365 3-Port 65W GaN USB Charger (Black) Delivers 65 Watts. Fast Charging The Mighty Mini 365 supports both USB Power Delivery 3.0 and PPS (Programmable Power Supply) technologies, which deliver fast and efficient charging. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1617773-REG/xcellon_pdg_365b_3_port_65w_gan_usb.html USB C cable: Apple USB Type-C Charge Cable (6.6') https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1294285-REG/apple_mll82am_a_usb_type_c_male_charge.html

I emailed Brad Hill regarding his workflow. As some of you have already posted, Brad takes the Nikon RAW file from Capture One into DXO PL and applies Noise reduction and initial sharpening in DXO PL. The end result is a sharpened and noise reduced DNG file that he further processes in Capture One. Brad further states why he does not use PureRaw. It offers fewer controls over the NR process than does DXO PL (sliders for Luminance NR, Dead Pixels, or Noise Model.) Thanks to Brad for providing the additional information.